While there is no character who could replace Uhtred in my heart, Thomas is special in his own way. He's a reluctant champion for the grail and the lance, and he's mostly a good Christian, though he has some doubts (St. Guinefort is hysterical to me). I adored Skeat and Father Hobbe and Sir Guillaume, and sort of in a strange way, the Prince, though you don't see much of him. I had a hot/cold relationship with Jeanette. I really wanted to love her, but couldn't in the end respect the way she treated Thomas. Alright...this is painful for me to admit but I have to just get over it and say that this was my first Cornwell disappointment. I initially gave it three stars in a generous spirit but in the cold morning light I see it differently. I've been aware of his tropes, cliches, formulas, repeated phrases and stuff like that since my second book of his ( The Pale Horseman) and it literally either been utterly irrelevant to my enjoyment of his novels so I can't just blame my wishy-washy reception to this book on any of those easy targets. There was something different going on here. Harlequin (in the USA The Archer's Tale) is the first novel in The Grail Quest series by English author Bernard Cornwell, first published in 2000. The story takes place in the mid-14th century, during the Hundred Years' War. The Archer's Tale tells the story of Thomas of Hookton, an Englishman who is driven from his small town by its destruction by a group of men looking for some hidden religious relics. He ends up as an archer in the Army of King Edward and most of the story tells the tale of the army's fight in what is now France trying to recover the English King's lands during what we know as the Hundred Years War. Thomas loves his life as an archer and must wrestle with his love of the army and his vow to recover The Lance of Saint George which was stolen from Hooton during the raid that drove him from the village.

Will Skeat - Thomas's friend and leader, a mercenary captain in the service of the Earl of Northampton Later that night, Thomas is beaten by Jekyll's men and about to have his own arse put into boiling water, but is rescued by Father Hobbe, a friend who constantly reminds him of his vow of revenge. Thomas enlists Jeanette's help to lure Jekyll into an ambush. Thomas kills Jekyll's squire and injures Jekyll, but Jekyll escapes. My Ancient & Medieval History group constantly raves about the works of Bernard Cornwell. Harlequin, or The Archer's Tale, was my first B.C. read and I now understand the reverence and praise the group gives to Mr. Cornwell. He writes historical fiction. One of the most respectful words I can speak when referring to a writer in this genre is Realistic. Harlequin is definitely Realistic. If you like books about Kings and Courtiers, Belles and Balls, Romance and Chivalry this is NOT the book for you. Thomas of Hookton is later briefly mentioned in Cornwell's novel Azincourt, set around the events leading up to the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 as having "died as a lord of a thousand acres." I would also compare to The Martian by Andy Weir or Daemon by Daniel Suarez. Each is a great story, great adventure, great narrator.

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The earl leaves Skeat and his men to garrison the city. They guard Jeanette from Sir Simon, but she remains hostile. A French force based in Lannion under Sir Geoffrey de Pont Blanc presents the only threat, but neither side wants to fight on the other's terms. Jekyll, however, is eager for plunder, so he and his men formally battle Sir Geoffrey's force. After Jekyll loses, Skeat sets a trap, having some of his men pretend to flee in panic; Geoffrey is deceived, and his force is decimated by English longbows. Skeat lets Geoffrey go free, much to Jekyll's fury (at losing a ransom). Thomas tells Jekyll to "go and boil your arse". Mainly because I couldn't find a character I liked. Both sides, the English and the French were not blameless in this war. Both sides committed atrocities, and yet both sides also had a few "good" people. I’m aware that Cornwell writes historical fiction; by the close of this book, I thought he’d pushed the fiction a little too far, forgetting the historical part. Too many to say. All are good, but a few that stand out because they are such fun characters are Will Skeet, Sam, Jake, Father Hobb, Jeanette, the Earl and, of course, Thomas of Hookton. Having been a big fan of historical fiction for as long as I can remember, I'm ashamed to admit this is my first Cornwell novel. Judging by how much I enjoyed Harlequin, it's definitely not going to be my last.

Main protagonist of this series is Thomas of Hookton, who's an English archer (hellequin in French given to all English archers) in the army for King Edward III.Estamos en 1346, los primeros compases de la guerra de los 100 años. Los 3 hijos de Felipe IV "El hermoso" han muerto sin descendencia (recordad la maldición de Jacques de Molay). Eduardo III de Inglaterra reclama sus derechos como nieto de "El hermoso", pero estos son rechazados en favor del sobrino Felipe (de "El hermoso"), hijo de su hermano Carlos de Valois, que asciendo al trono como Felipe VI y primer rey francés de la dinastía Valois. Jeanette - the daughter of a rich Breton merchant, widow of the Count of Armorica, Thomas's former lover Turns out, some of the strangest stuff that I’d dismissed, was historically accurate. History is wild, man.

If you've read Cornwell's Saxon Stories then you're probably familiar with the formula. Intelligent soldier plays the hero, wins lots of battles, schemes, and has a slew of women on the side. The Archer's Tale mostly follows this formula as well. There are battles, all historically accurate, there are women, there is raping, pillaging and plundering. There are brutal massacre's and bloody combat. There is also, amid Cornwell's smooth story telling, a good tale being told here and I look forward to following Thomas into Vagabond and then into Heretic as his path is changed by a promise to a father, a priest, a lord and a King.De forma paralela a los hechos históricos Cornwell nos presenta una historia bastante interesante donde aparece reliquias, griales, cátaros, venganzas familiares. Nos introduce en el día a día de la vida de un arquero inglés, con sus sufrimientos, su preparación, sus amoríos, sus rutinas, sus miedos, su desenfreno en el saqueo, su desempeño en el combate, su valor incalculable, que ellos conocían bien......

La verdad es que se lleva 4.5 Estrellas. Pero en comparación con la serie de sajones y vikingos, con mi querido Uhtred, creo que está un escalón por debajo.Este libro es un homenaje al arquero inglés. Pocas veces un arma ha marcado tanto la diferencia como lo hicieron los arqueros ingleses durante el siglo XIV. Ninguna defensa o armadura podía proteger al soldado o jinete enemigo. Ningún estado europeo podía oponer un cuerpo militar semejante, ya que sólo en Inglaterra y Gales se formaban los arqueros desde los 7-10 años de edad, condición necesaria para poder manejar un arco con solvencia. Las tristes ballestas no les llegaban a la suela del zapato, ni en alcance, ni en cadencia de tiro (7 flechas por cada dardo de ballesta). Tras el primer tiro, todos los ballesteros estaban muertos. Cuanto les costó aprender la lección a los franceses, casi les costó su propio país. Los arqueros eran odiados de tal modo que cuando uno de ellos caía prisionero, sus dedos eran cortados y eran torturados hasta la muerte, no había rescate posible. Vagabond is the second novel in The Grail Quest series by English author Bernard Cornwell, first published in 2002. Set during the first stage of the Hundred Years' War, it follows Thomas of Hookton's quest to find the Holy Grail, a relic which will grant decisive victory to the possessor.